Fitness Frustrations

This post came out sounding a lot more disgruntled than I intended it to. I guess it’s a combination of tiredness and… Well, no, mostly just the fact that I’m sleepy! (-_^)

This whole fitness thing is so strange. I’m just starting to feel like my old self again, that old strength returning to these tired (recovering) bones. I’m starting to feel strong again, which is a huge relief, and on top of that, I’ve been losing weight. And that’s the weird part. I mean, yes, weight-loss was part of The Plan, but it wasn’t the main goal. I do need to lose weight if I want to run and not wreck my poor knees, so bit by little bit, it’s coming off. The thing is, I’m not losing it uniformly. I’ve noticed a lot of change around my face, and my legs are starting to tone up nicely (I’m getting that nice “line” of muscle back on my calves! Woo!) and my hands and wrists are looking less sausage-y.

But.

It’s all disproportionate! My waist has decreased, but not nearly as much as my legs, so my new pants that were fitting so nicely all over are now pretty much the same in the waist, but starting to get baggy on my legs. It’s so irritating!

AND!

I keep hitting weird plateaus where for a week or two my weight stays EXACTLY the same. Every weight in. EXACTLY THE SAME. And my scale goes to the first decimal. This past week and a half was like that. Every couple of days or so. Same time. Same conditions. SAME EXACT WEIGHT TO THE FIRST DECIMAL! I started to think my scale was broken. Finally, though, this morning when I weighed myself I’d magically dropped over a pound since Tuesday. Odd. (And yes, I know this sounds contradictory to the “weight doesn’t matter” thing, but after progressing pretty steadily, these little speed bumps are irksome.)

And on top of weird weight-loss woes, the lovely wardrobe I’ve spent the last three years accruing with my grown-up teacher salary, mostly doesn’t fit me anymore. I still have some clothes from ages ago that kind of fit, but it’s that back of the closet stuff you always mean to get rid of, but never get around to tossing. And it’s from the broke, bygone era of mostly t-shirts and jeans. Except the jeans are long gone from over-use. So, yeah, I have no jeans. Partially because I REFUSE to wear stretch denim because it feels gross and partially because the only place I’ve ever found regular denim jeans no longer sells them.

So, yeah, if you see me wearing slacks and t-shirts on the weekends (a lot), that’s why. I have no coordinating clothing anymore. I have slacks that fit, but few nice shirts that do. And I have tees that fit, but no jeans that do.

Our bodies hate us… especially after 30… I noticed a huge decline in energy and metabolism after 30. I am now in the process of trying to lose 50lbs- weight I gained after a stressful divorce and kept on for a few years… I’ve lost 20 so far but that was going all drastic with HCG… although I learned a lot about what gluten does to me… it was a good experience and I’m back on it for another cycle… but then I’m on my own for calorie counting and gym time…

Good work all around though- it’s never easy and hopefully your body parts start living in unified harmony haha. :)

Yeah, they do. This past year or so has been pretty crazy for me health-wise (knee injury, diagnosed with PCOS, depression) and, on top of already being overweight (since childhood) I gained weight and got flabby. I’m taking control over all of it and getting back into fighting shape! :D

And I can’t wait until we reach some kind of equilibrium here! It should all even out with time… I hope! :-/

Weight loss and getting fit is a process, as you know, so just keep on doing what you’re doing. You’ll get there! I have to remind myself of that all the time: even if I “mess up” I shouldn’t just up and quit. I should make a better choice the next time and get over it. :)

Very cool that you’ve been consistent with this whole fitness thing and you’ve been seeing results! Kudos!! Grad school kinda kicked my butt this spring so I slacked on the workouts. I intend to change that this summer.